The spinning shafts associated with so-called rotary or "disc" pickers necessarily require bearing support. Leaving such bearings open and exposed to ambient conditions in a poultry processing plant, however, would result in extremely short life for the bearings as a result of corrosion setting in and the accumulation of foreign particles of dirt, grit, grime, feather particles and other trash substances associated with poultry processing. Hence, it has been accepted practice for several years to shield the bearings in various ways, e.g., locating the bearings within a housing from which the spinning shaft projects and sealing off the housing via a suitable annular seal of an appropriate resilient material that circumscribes the shaft.
Typical arrangements of this kind, however, have not been entirely successful due to the fact that small, fine feathers associated with poultry have an unusual tendency to work between the rotating shaft and the seal, and because such feathers are considerably abrasive in nature under these conditions, the seal is deteriorated sufficiently that access channels or paths will be carved by the feathers to the vulnerable bearings. Moisture, grit and grime and other particles can thereupon gain access to the bearings via the channels worn by the feathers, once again resulting in premature bearing failure.